Memorial Hall Library

Books for National Dog Day

August 26th is National Dog Day, but is there ever a bad time to celebrate dogs? Here are some recent true stories of very good boys and girls and the humans who love them.

Good boy : my life in seven dogs
Good boy : my life in seven dogs
by Jennifer Finney Boylan

The best-selling author of She’s Not There, New York Times opinion columnist and human rights activist offers a memoir of the transformative power of loving dogs. 
Molly : the true story of the amazing dog who rescues cats
Molly : the true story of the amazing dog who rescues cats
by Colin Butcher

Molly: The True Story of the Amazing Dog Who Rescues Cats tells the heartwarming story of the man-and-dog team behind the United Kingdom Pet Detective Agency--how Colin, in need of a new lease on life, rescues Molly the dog, and how Molly in turn rescues many more beloved lost pets. Together, they are the Sherlock and Watson of missing pets.
Craig & Fred : a Marine, a stray dog, and how they rescued each other
Craig & Fred : a Marine, a stray dog, and how they rescued each other
by Craig Grossi

Tells the uplifting true story of a U.S. Marine, the stray dog he met on an Afghan battlefield, and how they saved each other and now travel America spreading a positive message.
Doctor dogs : how our best friends are becoming our best medicine
Doctor dogs : how our best friends are becoming our best medicine
by Maria Goodavage

The best-selling author of Soldier Dogs and Secret Service Dogs investigates the current state of canine research to document the remarkable ways dogs are opening new avenues of health care, from disease detection to therapy assistance. 
Our dogs, ourselves : how we live with dogs
Our dogs, ourselves : how we live with dogs
by Alexandra Horowitz

The best-selling author of Inside of a Dog presents a middle-grade adaptation of Our Dogs, Ourselves that explores humanity’s complex and sometimes contradictory relationship with our canine companions. 
Have dog, will travel : a poet's journey
Have dog, will travel : a poet's journey
by Stephen Kuusisto

A blind poet describes how being laid off from his job as a small college town professor led him into acquiring his first guide dog and how it changed his life and gave him a newfound appreciation for travel and independence.
Hero dogs : how a pack of rescues, rejects, and strays became America's greatest disaster-search partners
Hero dogs : how a pack of rescues, rejects, and strays became America's greatest disaster-search partners
by Wilma Melville

A founder of the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation recounts how she turned a band of shelter dogs into one of America's foremost disaster-response teams during such catastrophes as the Oklahoma City bombing, 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.
Beyond words : what wolves and dogs think and feel
Beyond words : what wolves and dogs think and feel
by Carl Safina

The host of PBS’s Saving the Ocean presents a middle grade adaptation of the best-selling Beyond Words that shares uplifting stories about the wolves at Yellowstone, exploring what they can reveal about animal thoughts, behaviors and consciousness. 
The accidental veterinarian : tales from a pet practice
The accidental veterinarian : tales from a pet practice
by Philipp Schott

The author shares stories from his small animal clinic practice and explains the unlikely path he took to veterinary medicine.
Once a wolf : the science behind our dogs' astonishing genetic evolution
Once a wolf : the science behind our dogs' astonishing genetic evolution
by Bryan Sykes

The best-selling author of The Seven Daughters of Eve reveals how all dogs share a common ancestry with a small group of domesticated wolves and how the vast range of canine breeds were created by a few gene mutations.
My life among the underdogs : a memoir
My life among the underdogs : a memoir
by Tia Torres

The star of Animal Planet's "Pit Bulls & Parolees" shares the stories of some of her best-loved dogs and argues that all these dogs needed was someone to believe in them to overcome abuse, trauma, neglect, and hard luck.
Dog is love : why and how your dog loves you
Dog is love : why and how your dog loves you
by Clive D. L Wynne

Draws on scientific studies to analyze the bond between dogs and humans, arguing that it is not based on some kind of special intelligence on the part of dogs, but on their ability to love, which is their most essential trait.